Chapter 1 – Did I Reincarnate?

In 1990, portals began appearing all around the world.

Initially, the world was at a loss for what to do about these mysterious portals.

Brave souls attempted to enter the portals, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, many religious groups began proclaiming that the portals were an omen of the world's impending destruction.

Despite the efforts of scientists worldwide, no one could make sense of this bizarre phenomenon.

As time passed, things returned to normal, with the portals continuing to exist but no other changes occurring.

After three years of extensive testing and experimentation, scientists developed a method to locate the portals through their specific energy signatures.

For the next nine years, nothing changed. But then, the energy signals began gradually increasing, causing widespread panic around the world.

Finally, on January 1st, 2000, people across the globe heard a voice in their heads.

[MANA SATURATION HAS BEEN COMPLETED]

[PASSAGE TO THE TOWER OF TRIALS HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED]

[PASSAGE IS NOW STABLE AND CAN BE USED TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE TOWER OF TRIALS]

[PLEASE WAIT FOR AN INVITATION TO GAIN THE RIGHT TO ENTER THE TOWER OF TRIALS]

[ALL PORTALS WILL NOW BE CONVERTED INTO RANDOM DUNGEON ENTRANCES]

[IF THE DUNGEONS ARE NOT CLEARED AND CLOSED THERE WILL BE A DUNGEON BREAK]

[IN CASE OF A DUNGEON BREAK THE CREATURES INSIDE THE DUNGEON WILL COME OUT]

[AWAKENING STONES CAN BE ACQUIRED BY DEFEATING THE CREATURES OF THE DUNGEON OR CAN BE ACQUIRED AS REWARDS FROM TREASURE CHESTS]

[AFTER USING THE AWAKENING STONE YOU WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE PLAYER SYSTEM]

[AFTER THE PLAYER HAS CONNECTED TO THE SYSTEM THEY CAN CHECK THEIR STATS, SKILL, AND OTHER INFORMATION THROUGH THE STATUS WINDOW]

[ONLY PLAYERS HAVE A CHANCE TO GET THE INVITATION TO ENTER THE TOWER OF TRIALS]

[PLAYERS WILL GAIN ACCESS TO THE INVENTORY ONLY AFTER ENTERING THE TOWER OF TRIALS]

[PLAYERS CAN USE THE PARTY AND GUILD SYSTEM, BUT THE ITEM SHOP CAN ONLY BE ACCESSED FROM INSIDE THE TOWER OF TRIALS]

After the message ended the world went into an uproar.

Quite a lot of people without any care entered a portal near them.

Governments around the world made their military take charge of the situation and restricted entry inside the portal.

But because there were too many portals it became a mess.

Soon the situation started to get out of hand when from some portals monsters started to come out.

There were short green-skinned humanoid monsters which many recognized as “Goblins”, as well as “Kobolds” which were a bit taller than goblins and had dog-like heads with humanoid-like bodies covered with fur.

Besides these two types of creatures, others were mostly animals found on earth, but bigger and more ferocious.

Many places around the world soon became infested with monsters that came out of the portal.

Around the world, people started to fight back, and with the help of the army, they pushed back the monsters.

In the process of that quite a few awakening stones were found, and after using the stones a few people successfully awakened and got connected with the system while some needed multiple stones to became a “Player”.

After becoming a player, they didn’t get any amazing skills, powers, or anything like that. But they did become stronger. And with their help of them, the monsters were defeated.

The thing that shocked the world was that after those monsters were killed, they didn’t leave any corpses. They just vanished into thin air.

Normal people didn’t get anything but the players got exp and sometimes gold by killing those monsters, though the exp was from 1 to 3, while at most 1 gold.

The gold was not useable because it was not any physical currency but a type of virtual currency. But players could “Trade” the currency with each other.

The gold can be used to buy different types of items from the item tab on one’s status window. But alas it can only be accessed while they being was inside the tower, so the gold was of no use for the time being.

Soon more and more people started to awaken and became a player.

It was later discovered that on average one person would need 1 to 3 awakening stones or at max 5. Any more than that would be useless.

While this was going on monsters from many portals kept coming out.

It was discovered that the portals from which the monsters are coming out have much lower energy signals compared to some other portals.

After sending people inside to take a look around and find out what the situation inside was, it was discovered that in there the monsters were much stronger than the ones that had come out till now.

There were orcs, giants, dinosaur-like creatures, and other types of monsters.

The problem everyone faced was that if those monsters came out it would be akin to a disaster, but the thing was that guns, tanks, and the like were useless inside the portal.

They had to use the weapons found in the portals to defeat them.

Besides those “Mana Crystals” were also discovered. Soon it was determined that the amount of mana contained in those mana crystals differed depending on their size and quality. They were further divided into 5 categories ranging from Grade 1 to Grade 5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest that had been found till now.

It was also discovered that there were two types of portals, one where the permanent type, which once cleared would deny entry until the boss monster respawned. But the rewards and the amount of mana stones were rather low in them.

On the other hand, there were the one-time portals, which once cleared would disappear but be more dangerous, however, contained more valuable rewards.

As players explored the portals, they discovered more powerful monsters and hidden treasures. Some portals even led to other worlds with different environments and challenges.

The more difficult the portal, the greater the rewards. Players who managed to defeat the boss monsters of these portals were rewarded with rare items and in some rare situations with skills or spells runestones.

Soon guilds started appearing around the world and began to recruit players, offering them protection, resources, and training. Each guild had its own set of rules and goals, and players had to choose which guild they wanted to join.

As more players awakened and became stronger, the governments of the world started to realize that the portals were not going away anytime soon. They started to form alliances with the guilds, providing them with resources and support in exchange for their help in defending their countries.

The world had changed overnight, and players had become an integral part of it. The portals were now a source of both danger and opportunity, and players had to choose their path carefully if they wanted to survive and thrive in this new world.

*****

"Mr. Sharma, Mr. Sharma, are you okay?"

“Ugh.”

Pran managed to open his eyes, but everything seemed fuzzy and he was having a splitting headache. Someone was shaking him and asked if he was okay in a worried tone.

But after a bit, he could focus and see everything clearly, and his headache also started to subside.

He looked around, trying to understand his surroundings, but the man standing next took a breath of relief.

“Are you okay Mr. Sharma?”

Pran turned and looked at him, but didn’t say anything, only kept looking at him.

“It seems that you have experienced the ‘Mana Shock’ that some people experience after awakening. Though it’s not common, you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“It seems that you have awakened successfully, but we still need to verify it. So please place your hand on this orb.”

Pran, still confused, without any thought, placed his hand on the orb.

As soon as he touched it, it started to faintly glow in a gentle green light.

“Congratulations. It has been confirmed that you have successfully awakened.”

After that, he placed the orb on the side, took a piece of paper and stamped it, and gave it to Pran.

“Take this to the registration desk and they’ll give you your id card.”

Pran took the paper, stood up from the chair, and walked out of the room, all the while feeling dazed.

After coming outside he stood at the side and looked around.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Why am I here?”

“Am I having a flashback of my life before death, or is this some kind of illusion?”

Pran once again looked around and then tried to ignite a flame in the center of his palm, but couldn’t.

“Or did…… Did I reincarnate?”